Chapter 37: Attack on the whole line

Yinshan is nearly 100 kilometers north and south, and the valleys connected to the north and south are called "daokou". There are many road entrances in Yinshan, with dozens of road entrances, and the most important road entrance is called "Baidao".

Baidao is the flattest, widest and most convenient intersection of Yinshan Mountain. The Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Turks passed through the south countless times, disturbing the northern part.

There was a group of Turkic herdsmen riding horses, driving cattle and sheep, singing pastoral songs passing by here. Yinshan Mountain stretched for 1,200 kilometers, which was the watershed of the desert. The south of the mountain was warm and the rain was abundant, and the north of the mountain was cold. Once you passed the Baidao and entered the south of the mountain, you were back to the "Hetao Land" of the Turks' dream home.

The herdsmen passing by Baidao were cheering and cheering, and from time to time shouted, "Go home! Go home!" and drove the cattle and sheep and left happily.

This situation lasted for seven or eight days. Until now, the last group of herders passed the Baidao. The 400,000 Turkic army and hundreds of thousands of herders who went south all entered Shannan. It was time to take action.

On the mountain not far from Baidao, Cheng Xiaotian used a telescope to watch all this. The telescope was built by Chen Wanrong for military weapons. There was one general who went to the expedition this time. With the telescope, it was much more convenient. Standing far away, you could see clearly.

Cheng Xiaotian put down his telescope and turned around to a valley. There were thousands of Tang soldiers in the valley, and they were standing quietly. The war horses beside him held in their mouths without making any sound.

"Brothers, the Turks have all passed. It's time for us to act." Cheng Xiaotian's voice rose: "In the past few days, we have been drinking horse breasts here and gnawing on cold meat. A bird has faded out of our mouths. Do you want to change your taste?"

Cheng Xiaotian and the others were responsible for cutting off the retreat of the Turks and had already arrived in Yinshan to ambush. In order to keep it a secret, everyone cooked coldly, drank cold horse breasts, and ate stiff cold meat. After a few days, they didn't even drink a sip of hot water. Many soldiers' mouths were ground, but they had no resentment and were still executing orders.

Meticulous execution of orders is a great virtue of the Tang army.

"Think!" Thousands of people shouted in unison.

"If you want, just act!" Cheng Xiaotian flew on the horse, slapped the horse's back, and rushed out first. Behind him, thousands of Tang troops rode war horses, galloping out of the mountain plateau like wind, and stormed towards Baidao.

Mochuo was not stupid either. He put a thousand Turkic soldiers on the white road to defend. However, the one thousand Turkic army was not the opponent of thousands of Tang troops. The Tang army was in chaos with one team that charged forward. After another, they covered up the killing and cleaned up the thousand Turkic army.

Cheng Xiaotian wiped the blood-dripping horizontal knife while ordering: "Immediately inform the general that all the Turks have arrived in Shannan, and we have taken down Baidao. The other road crossings are under control! I, Cheng Xiaotian, promise that no Turks will escape!"

Just as Cheng Xiaotian took down Bai Dao, the other Tang troops responsible for capturing the road entrance were also taking action. The road entrances of Yinshan were capturing one by one, and the passage of Mochu's north retreat had been cut off.

"Calculate the time, the Turks are almost all passing, and we should prepare to attack." Chen Wanrong said while drinking the hot horse's breasts, "Master General, how do you plan to fight this battle?"

"First put the Turks in the south of the mountain, then cut off the retreat route, and then face the enemy head-on." Zhang Shougui had long been convinced.

Chen Wanrong knew that he had misunderstood and clarified: "Master, I don't mean that. I mean how to deal with the surrendered Turkic army and people."

"Well, the court has its own regulations. Those who surrender are welcomed well, and those who do not surrender will be killed!" Zhang Shougui blurted out without thinking.

Chen Wanrong knew that this was a traditional strategy to deal with nomadic peoples, and was not surprised at all: "However, there is a disadvantage to doing this. Think about it, the Turks were afraid of us, and once it was unfavorable, they would surrender. Then, the court met him well and arranged them to various places. After a few years, they recovered their vitality, and it is difficult to guarantee that a second rebellion would not occur?"

Zhang Shougui shook his hand and said, "Military Supervisor, this matter is something the emperor is considering, not what we should think of."

He is a typical soldier. He just needs to execute orders. Other things are not what he should think of, so he doesn't have to think about.

Chen Wanrong didn't think so: "We should consider some things and think about them. I have thought about them. When Li Jing attacked Yinshan at night, he did not use troops to easily destroy the Turks. However, because the incident happened suddenly, the Turkic army did not organize effective resistance, and it can be said that there was no resistance at all, so the Turks did not suffer any losses."

"Military Supervisor, what you said is wrong. All the Turkic troops surrendered. Isn't this a loss?" Zhang Shougui disagreed with Chen Wanrong's proposal.

Chen Wanrong corrected: "I mean the Turkic people, not the Turkic army."

The difference between the Turkic army and the Turkic people was obvious, and Zhang Shougui understood: "That's right. After the First World War, the imperial court placed the Turkic people in the Hetao area. They rested and recovered quickly."

"The problem is here!" Chen Wanrong nodded, his voice rising: "When it comes time to rebel, the twenty-four states respond. The land in the south of the desert is not owned by the imperial court, and we cannot repeat this mistake."

"Military Supervisor, what do you want to do?" Yang Sixu heard something in Chen Wanrong's words and asked hurriedly.

Chen Wanrong put the bowl of horse breasts: "I want to use the blood of the Turks to water the flowers in the desert!"

"Supervisor, no! Killing and surrendering bully!" Zhang Shougui immediately opposed: "If Fu Nian had not killed him, the Turks would not have the will to fight, nor would they establish a country. We cannot make such mistakes again."

"I didn't say that I was killing and surrendering!" Chen Wanrong's speech was a little blurred.

The meaning of the words is obvious, who can't understand? This matter is too big, and Zhang Shougui can't make up his mind for a moment. Chen Wanrong was right. The Turks were afraid of fighting the Tang army. They knew that as long as they surrender, the Tang Dynasty would treat them preferentially and save their lives. There was no major loss of the population, and it would not take long before the Turks would grow stronger again. At that time, they might really rebel again. If this were the case, the significance of this battle would be greatly reduced.

If the Turks cannot recover their vitality within a hundred years and cannot rebel, they can only reduce their population. As for the way to reduce the population, it is obvious and there is no need to say it out.

Everyone looked at me, and I looked at you, and no one spoke, and they were thinking about it.

"I agree!" Wang Zhongsi's tender voice sounded, and he was the first to express his opinion.

"I agree too!" Yang Sixu agreed.

"In the battle of Tubo, countless killings were killed, and Tubo would not be able to recover its vitality within a hundred years." Wang Shaohua said it bluntly: "Only by imitating this method, the Turks can settle down. I didn't say anything, agree!"

"Master, where are you?" Chen Wanrong asked.

Zhang Shougui was a little confused: "What if a minister impeached us in the future and said that we did not restrict the army and killed too much, what should we do?"

This result is not the case, and 100% of people will impeach him, and he has to worry about it.

Chen Wanrong said calmly: "Okay, I will do this! Anyway, I don't care whether I am an official or not. Don't participate."

"Military Supervisor, you have misunderstood. I am not attached to glory and wealth." Zhang Shougui hurriedly said: "When I think about this, I feel uneasy."

Chen Wanrong said a very philosophical saying: "Some things must be paid! Without blood, there will be no beautiful ending. Since the Turkic rebellion, countless killings have been killed. Before Mochu went south this time, didn't he kill tens of thousands of captured border residents? There were still 100,000 border residents wandering in the five chapters! If we don't do this today, will we make another five chapters in decades? Or a few five chapters? or even more!"

The tragic incident in the five chapters spread to the world. At that time, the world was shocked. Whether it was the people or the ministers in the court, they were shouting "Revenge!" Although this incident has been so many years, when they think about it, it still makes people hate. Zhang Shougui, a general from the north, still felt this deeply, and clenched his fist with his right hand and said, "Okay! Just do it! I'll order the entire army to fight, be sure to avenge the border residents who died unjustly in the five chapters!"

An order that aroused hatred was released like this. For this order, the Tang army did not care whether the Turks were fighting or surrendering, but just let go of their hands and feet and kill them.

It’s not that Chen Wanrong was cruel. After Chen Wanrong came to the north, he heard about the tragic incidents of countless Turks killing border people. Without the border, he did not know how the tragic murders were, which made Chen Wanrong’s hatred surge. If this tragic incident does not reappear within a hundred years, he can only complete it with the blood of the Turks.

As for what happened a hundred years later, that was what future generations should do, and Chen Wanrong could not do much.

"Master, please report it urgently!" A personal guard came in, handed the military report to Zhang Shougui, and retreated.

Zhang Shougui opened it and saw that it was the battle report sent by Cheng Xiaotian. He clenched his fist with his right hand and said, "That's great! The Turks have all passed through Yinshan. General Cheng has captured Bai Dao and is commanding the army to capture other road intersections. Mochu's retreat has been cut off. It's time for us to attack!"

"The attack has arrived!" Everyone stood up and felt energetic.

"Each division is ready to attack! When my attack order is issued, set off immediately!" Zhang Shougui gave the order with a serious look on his face.

"Abide by the order!"

"Military Supervisor, do you have anything to say?" Zhang Shougui looked at Chen Wanrong.

Chen Wanrong shook his head: "No more! I just want to chop the Turkic people's heads!"

"Haha!" A laughter sounded. Zhang Shougui waved his hand and everyone went out to deploy.

"Let's go! Supervisor, let's issue an attack order now!" Zhang Shougui pulled Chen Wanrong's hand out of the cave. The two climbed along the mountain path to the top of the mountain, which was higher than other peaks. There was a flat land on the top of the mountain, with hundreds of drummers on standby, and there was a curtain of oil in front of them.

Zhang Shougui waved his hand, and the drummer stepped forward, lifted the oil curtain, revealing a war drum. Chen Wanrong roughly estimated that there were at least two hundred big drums.

Zhang Shougui stood up high, glanced at the drum, and a powerful voice sounded: "Order: All units attack!"

The drumstick in the drummer's hand smashed towards the war drum. For a moment, the thunderous sound of drums rang out from afar.

Listening to the familiar sound of war drums, Chen Wanrong's blood boiled, and his left hand unexpectedly grabbed the hilt of the saber.

After a while, Zhang Shougui waved his right hand and the drummer stopped beating the drums. The rumbling sound of war drums came from a distant place. After a while, another direction came. The directions were getting more and more, and soon there were as many as ten places.

This is a signal of an appointment in advance, and it is an offensive order issued by Zhang Shougui.

The drum sound can be spread far away, and hundreds of war drums can be beaten, even on the flat ground, it will be spread far away. Not to mention on the top of the mountain, if not a hundred miles, it will be spread for dozens of miles.

This method is very good, and it is more effective than using a commander to light a beacon.

As soon as the order was passed down, all 500,000 Tang troops hidden in Luliang Mountain, Helan Mountain, Lang Mountain, Heishan Mountain and all came out, and according to the pre-design, they detoured and interspersed.

Chen Wanrong and Zhang Shougui went down the mountain and came to the artillery camp. Under the command of Yang Sixu and Wang Zhongsi, the artillery drove out in an orderly manner.

Mochuo was in a very good mood today! Because he had been in Zhongshoujiang City for several days, and no Tang army came to fight for it. This is a good thing! The later the Tang army's counterattack, his preparation time was sufficient. Of course, what made him most happy was that this showed that the Tang Dynasty was really not prepared at all. Instead, he felt a little regretful for staying north of Yinshan for so long. If he had known that the Tang Dynasty was not prepared, why didn't he come directly?

What made Mochu feel a little regretful was that Zhongshoujiang City was in ruins! What was more important was that the military supplies stored by the Tang army here were not obtained. What he wanted most was the equipment stored by the Tang army here, which was what he wanted in his dreams.

Since the Eastern Turks perished and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty also gave the Turks a lot of equipment. However, those equipment had almost been lost in the Battle of Black Mountain commanded by Pei Xingjian. Under Pei Xingjian's series of attacks, the Turks suffered a very shocking loss, including the loss of equipment.

If he hadn't been deceived by cunningly and obtained tens of thousands of pounds of iron by calculating tricks, he wouldn't know how to overcome the difficulties at that time.

Although I have regrets, the important land of Zhongshoujiang City is still under my control. Although it has become a ruin, it still has high strategic value. The city wall is still there and can still be used. As soon as I arrived here, Mochu ordered the Turkic army to repair the defense facilities and prepare to welcome the Tang army's counterattack. After several days of hard work, it was almost repaired.

But without the Tang army's strong bow and crossbow, it makes people feel regretful.

After a tour, Mochu returned to the tent and invited ministers to have a banquet. The Turks were loose in their organization and had few power and affairs, so they could only pass the boring time with a banquet.

The ministers received the order and rushed over. For a moment, the tent was very lively. What the ministers said most was to praise Mochu's wisdom, his greatness, and he praised him for a flower.

Listening to the praises of the ministers, Mochu was still very satisfied. Although the ministers' words sounded nice, they were too weak, and Mochu was not unable to hear them. However, he really calculated accurately this time, and it was a very wise decision to launch an attack in advance. If he had not been so lucky when he went south at the turn of spring and summer.

Just as the cups were coming and going, a shocking sound of war drums came. Mochuo was so familiar with this drum sound, it was the order of the Tang army to attack. Whenever the drum sounded, the Tang army would move forward and surge like a tide.

During the Battle of Heishan, dozens of Turkic troops and herdsmen crushed the Tang army into pieces amid the sound of the war drums that shook the sky.

"Did the Tang army attack?" Mochu's hand trembled, and the silver bowl of horse's breasts hit the table, and the horse's breasts were splashed all over. He stood up suddenly, his eyes wide open, his voice was too high, and he was a little sharp: "Do you guys, have you noticed Tang army?"

The ministers were also familiar with the drum sound, and knew what the drum sound meant, and were as surprised as him. You looked at me, I looked at you, no one spoke.

"Have you sent scouts when you speak?" Mochuo asked anxiously.

"Khan, I've sent it! I've sent it!"

"The Tang army must fight back, how dare we take it lightly!"

The ministers waited for further talk and sniffed, "Stop!" They pricked up their ears and listened quietly.

There were war drums coming from different directions. After a while, drums sounded further away. In this way, the drums were heard toward distant places.

"What are the tricks Tangren is playing?"

"It's said it was an attack, but their army was not seen! Could it be that they have wings and can fly?"

"This is their order to attack!" Mochuo suddenly understood and staggered and almost fell to the ground.
To be continued...